SANTA’S FIRST STOP: SUNDANCE SQUARE

Fort Worth ’s Famed Entertainment District Proves Holidays are GREENER than Ever

FORT WORTH, TX (Nov. 17, 2008) – Holiday excitement arrived today in Sundance Square with the appearance of a 54-foot blue spruce at the corner of Main and 3rd streets. The tree, brought in from Grand Rapids, MI, arrived over the weekend and was lifted by a crane from a flat bed truck into its place of honor, and will be decorated throughout the week by Sundance Square elves.

This is not just any tree – this year’s holiday centerpiece is going ‘green.’ The blue spruce’s electricity emissions are being offset – 100 percent – with Texas wind power from Sundance Square’s energy partner, Green Mountain Energy Company. This is the equivalent of keeping a car off the road for more than 28,000 miles – or, driving to the North Pole and back. Approximately 18,000 kilowatt hours (kWh) of pollution free wind power will come from the Green Mountain Energy® Brazos Wind Farm in West Texas.

“Sundance Square’s holidays will be more than the traditional red and green – we will be environmentally friendly ‘green’,” said Johnny Campbell, president and CEO of Sundance Square. “As we celebrate peace and unity in our community, we also look to make the holidays a little brighter without the carbon footprint.”

Sundance Square will kick off the holiday season, with a day full of events on Friday, Nov. 28 to herald in the holiday spirit the day after Thanksgiving.

The Holiday Fun Zone presented by XTO Energy opens at 2 pm on Friday and is located on Main Street between 3rd and 4th streets. The event features children’s holiday-themed crafts, food, and more.

Then, the public is invited to the 26th annual Chesapeake Energy Parade of Lights presented by Chase in Sundance Square. The parade is themed “The Sights and Sounds of the Season” and will feature illuminated floats, marching bands and other performers to herald the holiday season. The parade begins at 6 p.m. at Throckmorton and Belknap Street, and winds through downtown Fort Worth and Sundance Square.

The Chesapeake Energy Parade of Lights presented by Chase also offers a chance for everyone to give their first gift of the season, an unwrapped toy to donate to low-income families residing in Tarrant County. Cowboy Santas will walk the parade route to receive these special gifts during the parade.

As the parade draws to a close, the lights on the Christmas Tree in Sundance Square will come to life with a tree-lighting ceremony at 7:35 p.m. featuring Santa Claus and performers from the North Central Civic Ballet Company’s Nutcracker production. After Santa helps light the tree, he will visit with children and take pictures until 10 pm. Holiday keepsake photos with Santa are only five dollars each with the funds benefiting a scholarship fund established by the Fort Worth Sister Cities.

Immediately following the tree lighting, everyone is invited to stay in Sundance Square for a special showing of the classic movie A Christmas Story on the big screen at 8 p.m.

“Sundance Square is a great place to be the day after Thanksgiving for families to come together and celebrate the joy of the season,” said Campbell. “For children big and small, there is something for everyone this season in Sundance.”

About Sundance Square
Located in the heart of downtown Fort Worth, historic Sundance Square is a 35-block commercial, residential, entertainment and retail district where people work, live, shop and dine. Sundance Square’s beautiful landscaping, red-brick streets and turn-of-the-century buildings make it a pedestrian’s delight. Named after the famed Sundance Kid, who used the Fort Worth area as a hideout, Sundance Square has been hailed as a monumental achievement in urban redevelopment. For more information, visit www.sundancesquare.com.

About Green Mountain Energy Company
Green Mountain , the nation’s leading provider of cleaner energy and carbon offset solutions, was founded in 1997 “to change the way power is made.” The company is the longest serving green power marketer in the U.S. and was ranked the highest in residential customer satisfaction with retail electric service in Texas by J.D. Power and Associates. Green Mountain offers consumers and businesses the choice of cleaner electricity products from renewable sources such as wind and water; and carbon offset products through its BeGreen division ( www.begreennow.com ). Green Mountain customers have collectively helped avoid over 4.1 million tons of CO2 emissions. For more information, visit www.greenmountain.com .

Green Mountain Energy Company received the highest numerical score among residential electric service providers in Texas in the proprietary J.D. Power and Associates 2008 Texas Residential Retail Electric Service Satisfaction StudySM. Study based on responses from 2,572 consumers measuring 8 providers and measures opinions of consumers with their electric service provider. Proprietary study results are based on experiences and perceptions of consumers surveyed in June 2008. Your experiences may vary. Visit jdpower.com.

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